3D Radiology images

The Stanford University School of Medicine has a fascinating Flickr stream, including a collection of mystery medical history photos that I posted about several months ago. Most recently, they added a small set of interesting images from their 3D Radiology Lab. Above: "3D frontal view of teeth with braces overlaid on 2D human mandible. The wisdom teeth (upper right and left) have not yet penetrated the gums." Below left: "The lumbar region of the spine with surgically implanted hardware." From the 3D Radiology Set description:

The Stanford Radiology 3D Imaging Laboratory uses computed tomography and Magnetic Resonance imaging data to create three-dimensional images of the human body. Individual CT and MR scans of the body are taken around a single axis that are stacked and rendered using complex computer algorithms to create a three-dimensional volume of data. The images produced from this data can be manipulated on-screen to provide doctors with unique interior perspectives of the human body for diagnosing and treating patients. Each month the lab produces nearly 20,000 images.

6 Responses to “3D Radiology images”

(As an aside, this is an interesting lesson in university branding/PR/marketing. A lot of university labs across the nation do 3D radiology. But, only the Stanford lab thought to make a flickr stream of the most visually appealing, and thus has the opportunity to be publicly associated with the technique, which is standard in industry, but cutting-edge and fascinating for most laypeople.)

johnny, you beat me to it. the 3D reconstructions you can make from CT datasets with osirix are incredible. MR not as much, but still very interesting. if you ever had a CT or MR done you should be able to get a CDROM containing the data from the lab for free or for a small charge. nowadays they usually just give you the disc when you leave.